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Sunday, March 10, 2013

Well this was our first day off the ship and the first stop was Nassau Bahamas.When we got off the ship it was really windy and had a chill in the air.

The Atlantis Bahamas Resort is located here as well.There were actually a few excursions that one could take over there.S and I decided to tour Nassau on our own.

Once we reached the end of the dock there were horse and buggies, taxies and vendors trying to sell so many things. There were people calling to you from all directions asking you if you wanted a ride and/or wanted to take a tour. Women and men asking if you would like to have your hair braided, I guess when they saw the length of my hair that’s when all of my offers started to roll in.

S and I walked around the straw market.This is basically a huge flea market.It had all sorts of tourist items such as tee shirt, bags, hats, and whatever else you can think of to put Bahamas on. Some of the items were handmade.Again people calling at you from every direction trying to get you to buy their items.We left the straw market and just walked up and down Bay Street.Bay Street is where they have a bunch of shops to name a few; Rolex, Diamonds International, Colombian Emeralds, Gucci, Bacardi, Del Sol (the items change color in the sun), Harley Davidson and everything is duty free.S and I didn’t buy anything we were just walking around taking everything in.We didn’t stick to Bay Street we walked down a few of the side streets as well.We saw a Hard Rock Café and Starbucks.There was also a Pirate Museum I wish we would have gone into while we were over there but we were going to go back to the ship and get some lunch and then come back.On our way back to the ship we were walking along the water front and we saw an elderly lady that had hand painted tiles for sale.S and I decided this is what we wanted to take home to remind us of Nassau so we each picked out a couple and then one for my mom.They were so pretty.I will have pictures of them in a separate post.We were then going to head back to the ship to get some lunch and then at the last minute we decided to go on a horse and buggy ride.

The ride took about 45 minutes and we both really enjoyed it.The guide really knew his stuff.He kept us really entertained.I would say it is really worth the money.The cost was $20 USD and then we gave him a $10 USD tip.Although we had already walked the majority of the route we were now riding on the buggy ride it was still really cool to hear the history behind everything we had seen.There was a really unique tree and as the tour guide pointed out it is the oldest standing tree in Nassau.

Something S and I found really interesting is although they gained their independence from England in 1973 they are still strongly influenced by them.They still wear the white wigs and long black robes to court.This is a picture of Parliament Square and to visit is free.

The tour guide also told us about their flag and what each of the colors represented.The Bahamian Flag has three very bold and beautiful colors.The black represents the power and strength of the people.The yellow represents the sun and the aquamarine represents the sea.

When we finished with the buggy ride we decide to go back to the ship and have some lunch and then we would come back to Nassau to walk around some more.While we were eating lunch S realized that while we were walking on the island during one of the gusts of wind he got something in his eye and this entire time he had been trying to get it out.After lunch he was not feeling well so we went to the cabin to see if I could get whatever it was out.After searching his eye I finally saw a black piece of sand.After several attempts I could not get it out.We decided that we needed to get him to the ship’s doctor and pass on going back to Nassau.This is the point where we talked with the ship’s nurse and realized how it is worth the money to get cruise insurance on the off chance you may need it because it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to be air lifted off the ship.After the visit to the doctor and some eye drops later S was feeling better but we decided with the wind we were better off to just stay put and rest up for tomorrow’s next port of call, Freeport Bahamas.We went back to our cabin and our new creation of the day was waiting for us.

We had a great day in Nassau.I would recommend to anyone that is going if you are not going to do a planned excursion through the cruise line then do some research at home before the cruise.There is a lot to do such as touring the Pirate Museum, tour the Parliament Square, walk up the 65 steps of the Queen’s Staircase to name a few.S and I are planning on going back soon and I know these are a few of the many things we plan on doing when we get there.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will be happy to answer.